It's very much out with the old, in with the new (and old) in Sacramento these days -- with ghosts of governors past, present and future drifting up and down L Street for the change of power.

Former Gov. Jerry Brown -- who was once the boss of soon-to-be ex-Gov. Gray Davis -- stopped by last week for the unveiling of a plaque dedicating the governor's offices to Jerry's father, former Gov. Pat Brown. (Although Davis' name was just about as big on the plaque.)

Meanwhile, just a few blocks away, former Gov. Pete Wilson was going into the members-only Sutter Club to "fuel up" on lunch before his big sit-down with Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger to plot fiscal strategy.

And speaking of strategy, a number of Democrats have been in and out of Team Arnold headquarters -- including Kathleen Brown, sister of Jerry, daughter of Pat and Democrat to the core.

As you may or may not know, the state budgeted $550,000 for Schwarzenegger's transition into the governor's office and an additional $150, 000 for Davis' exit, including the cost of shipping his personal belongings back to L.A.

No word if the budget included money for the recent visit by Davis and his wife, Sharon, to the California Highway Patrol training grounds for lessons in anti-kidnapping driving tactics. (How's that for getting ready for life in the private sector?)

By the way, this will be the first time in 12 years that Gray will be getting behind the wheel of his own car.

As for how Davis will actually exit his office, well, that detail is still being worked out.

Davis has been invited to attend Schwarzenegger's swearing-in Monday -- and we're told he plans to show up.

It may feel a bit odd on both sides, but as one inaugural planner told us:

"Look, we didn't have a helicopter so he could fly off the Capitol lawn, waving goodbye."

Besides, says our Team Arnold source, "Gray has been pretty classy the way he handled the transition, and we expect him to go out that way."

Incidentally, Davis is expected to be joined at the inaugural by all of California's other living ex-governors except Ronald Reagan. Lest Reagan be missed, there will be at least three other actors there -- Arnold's former Hollywood co-stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Linda Hamilton and Vanessa Williams, who will sing the national anthem.

And after the reins of power officially change hands, the California Chamber of Commerce will host 2,000 people at a buffet luncheon at the Sacramento Convention Center, per the transition team's request.

Chamber members from around the state will be picking up the tab for an event that's expected to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

And just what's on the menu?

There will be the proverbial food stands "representing the diversity of California" -- but, in honor of immigrant Arnold, Austrian food will be served as well.

Newsom, who polled 42 percent of the vote in the first round on Nov. 4, is telling supporters he needs "all the support he can get" to beat his rival,

Supervisor Matt (19 percent) Gonzalez.

His campaign has shot out letters to supporters offering "helpful tips" on how they can stuff the coffers.

Among them:

Has your spouse or partner donated?

Has every child in your house older than 18 donated?

Have all your friends given a donation?

And don't forget, the letter continues, the donors can live anywhere in the United States.

When San Francisco resident Kevin Hayes got a phone call along these lines the other day, he asked the voice on the other end, "OK, but what's Newsom going to do for me?"

Hayes said there was a brief silence. "Heck, I don't know," the voice said. "I'm calling from Chicago."

Chicken Little: In San Francisco, you never know what you're going to find when you knock on a car window -- but nothing prepared the cops for what they found the night of Nov. 3 down by Aquatic Park.

The window came down and there was a guy with a chicken sitting on his lap and a second chicken in a bag on the passenger seat.

"What's with the chickens?" the cop asked.

"I'm going to take them home and eat them," the driver replied.

"Lift up the chicken," the cop said.

The driver did -- and the next thing you know, the driver was in cuffs and the chickens were on their way to the humane society -- where (we kid you not) the hens were given a sexual battery exam by a vet the cops called in.

All we can say is, it's going to make for some very interesting testimony on the witness stand.

"But the killer will be the other evidence," a law enforcement source said. "A 15-ounce jar of Vaseline . . . with three feathers in it."